Charlene Teters
Encyclopedia
Charlene Teters is a Native American
artist, educator, and lecturer. Her paintings and art installations
have been featured in over 21 major exhibitions, commissions, and collections. She is a member of the Spokane Tribe
, and her Spokane name is Slum Tah. She was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, near the Spokane Indian Reservation.
mascot
s and other imagery in sports since 1989. She is a founding board member of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media (NCRSM).
Beginning in 1984, she attended the Institute of American Indian Arts
(IAIA), in Santa Fe, New Mexico
, graduating in 1986 with an Associate of Fine Arts in painting from in 1986. She then attended the College of Santa Fe
, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree in painting in 1988.
In 1988, she began graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
's Department of Art and Design, eventually graduating with a Master of Fine Arts
degree in painting. In 1989, she reacted strongly to the performance of a pseudo-Native American dance by a European American student portraying "Chief Illiniwek
" at a university basketball
game and soon after began to protest silently outside athletic events while holding a small sign reading "Indians are human beings." Her actions and those of other Native American students as the University of Illinois, such as Marcus Amerman
, led to a strong upswing in efforts to eliminate Native American imagery in school, university, and university athletics throughout the United States and a film (In Whose Honor by Jay Rosenstein) was produced on the subject.
Teters also holds an honorary doctorate in fine art from Mitchell College
in New London, Connecticut
. On October 10, 1997 she was honored as "Person of the Week" by Peter Jennings
on the ABC World News Tonight program, for her commitment to her work and her people.
In the mid-1990s Teters served as Senior Editor of Native Artist Magazine. She currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico
and serves as Professor of Art at the Institute of American Indian Arts and has served as Dean for Arts and Cultural Studies at IAIA. From 2005 through 2007, she has also served as Hugh O. LaBounty Endowed Chair of Interdisciplinary Knowledge at California State Polytechnic University
in Pomona, California
.
Teters was the first artist-in-residence at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City, New York.
meeting of American Indian dignitaries and activists in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. It was created to fight the powerful influence of major media who choose to promote messages of Native American oppression. Holding demonstrations and marches outside numerous sports stadiums across America, the NCRSM has influenced the education effort on racial stereotyping and made it a household discussion topic. Components of major media which form public and government opinion include: film, video, sports entertainment, educational institutions, publications, news organizations, television, cable, satellite, internet, retail practices and merchandising, marketing, and radio.
At the creation of the NCRSM, the Board of Directors consisted of eleven directors including Teters as Vice-President and Senior Editor, Clyde Bellecourt
as the National Director and the late Vernon Bellecourt
as the former President and National Representative for the NCRSM. Their mission was and still is rooted in the belief that the use of Indian and indigenous people as athletic mascots is dehumanizing to the Native American race as it perpetuates negative connotations and inaccurate stereotypes. The ultimate goal of the NCRSM is to remove the "desecration" of their spiritual practices that use feathers, paints, dances, music and instruments in the incorrect context. Finally, the NCRSM wants to discontinue the use of the indigenous person mascots in schools because they feel it is promoting the wrong ideals and images of the Native American people and inaccurately portraying history to the youth of America.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
artist, educator, and lecturer. Her paintings and art installations
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
have been featured in over 21 major exhibitions, commissions, and collections. She is a member of the Spokane Tribe
Spokane (tribe)
The Spokane are a Native American people in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Spokane Indian Reservation, at , is located in eastern Washington, almost entirely in Stevens County, but includes two very small parcels of land and part of the Spokane River in...
, and her Spokane name is Slum Tah. She was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, near the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Education and activism
She has been active in opposing the use of Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
s and other imagery in sports since 1989. She is a founding board member of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media (NCRSM).
Beginning in 1984, she attended the Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
(IAIA), in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, graduating in 1986 with an Associate of Fine Arts in painting from in 1986. She then attended the College of Santa Fe
College of Santa Fe
Santa Fe University of Art and Design is an institution of creative and performing arts based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The university offers programs in creative writing, theatre, art, graphic design, moving image arts , music, and photography, based on a liberal arts core curriculum...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree in painting in 1988.
In 1988, she began graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
's Department of Art and Design, eventually graduating with a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree in painting. In 1989, she reacted strongly to the performance of a pseudo-Native American dance by a European American student portraying "Chief Illiniwek
Chief Illiniwek
Chief Illiniwek was the mascot and the official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 21, 2007. The mascot was portrayed by a student dressed in Sioux regalia to honor the Illiniwek, the...
" at a university basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
game and soon after began to protest silently outside athletic events while holding a small sign reading "Indians are human beings." Her actions and those of other Native American students as the University of Illinois, such as Marcus Amerman
Marcus Amerman
Marcus Amerman is an award-winning Choctaw bead artist, glass artist, painter, fashion designer, and performance artist, living north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is known for his highly realistic beadwork portraits.-Background:...
, led to a strong upswing in efforts to eliminate Native American imagery in school, university, and university athletics throughout the United States and a film (In Whose Honor by Jay Rosenstein) was produced on the subject.
Teters also holds an honorary doctorate in fine art from Mitchell College
Mitchell College
For the North Carolina college formerly known as Mitchell College, see Mitchell Community College.Mitchell College is a liberal arts college located on the banks of the Thames River, in New London, Connecticut, USA...
in New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
. On October 10, 1997 she was honored as "Person of the Week" by Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
on the ABC World News Tonight program, for her commitment to her work and her people.
In the mid-1990s Teters served as Senior Editor of Native Artist Magazine. She currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
and serves as Professor of Art at the Institute of American Indian Arts and has served as Dean for Arts and Cultural Studies at IAIA. From 2005 through 2007, she has also served as Hugh O. LaBounty Endowed Chair of Interdisciplinary Knowledge at California State Polytechnic University
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...
in Pomona, California
Pomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
.
Teters was the first artist-in-residence at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York City, New York.
National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media
The National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media (NCRSM) was formed in October 1991 at the Augsburg CollegeAugsburg College
Augsburg College is a selective liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Augsburg was named for the Augsburg Confession, the document of Lutheran belief. The school was founded in 1869 in Marshall, Wisconsin as Augsburg Seminary and moved...
meeting of American Indian dignitaries and activists in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. It was created to fight the powerful influence of major media who choose to promote messages of Native American oppression. Holding demonstrations and marches outside numerous sports stadiums across America, the NCRSM has influenced the education effort on racial stereotyping and made it a household discussion topic. Components of major media which form public and government opinion include: film, video, sports entertainment, educational institutions, publications, news organizations, television, cable, satellite, internet, retail practices and merchandising, marketing, and radio.
At the creation of the NCRSM, the Board of Directors consisted of eleven directors including Teters as Vice-President and Senior Editor, Clyde Bellecourt
Clyde Bellecourt
Clyde Howard Bellecourt is a White Earth Ojibwe civil rights organizer noted for co-founding the American Indian Movement in 1968 with Dennis Banks, Herb Powless, and Eddie Benton Banai, among others. His older brother, the late Vernon Bellecourt, was also active...
as the National Director and the late Vernon Bellecourt
Vernon Bellecourt
Vernon Bellecourt, Indian name WaBun-Inini, was a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe , and a Native American rights activist, one of the highest leaders in the American Indian Movement...
as the former President and National Representative for the NCRSM. Their mission was and still is rooted in the belief that the use of Indian and indigenous people as athletic mascots is dehumanizing to the Native American race as it perpetuates negative connotations and inaccurate stereotypes. The ultimate goal of the NCRSM is to remove the "desecration" of their spiritual practices that use feathers, paints, dances, music and instruments in the incorrect context. Finally, the NCRSM wants to discontinue the use of the indigenous person mascots in schools because they feel it is promoting the wrong ideals and images of the Native American people and inaccurately portraying history to the youth of America.
Sports teams deemed offensive
Charlene Teters and the NCRSM have listed the following schools and teams on their home page to get certain universities and institutions in America to realize that the use of indigenous people is wrong as mascots.- Anderson High School "Redskins", Cincinnati, Ohio
- Atlanta "Braves", Georgia
- Cleveland "Indians" Chief "Wahoo", Ohio
- Florida State University "Seminoles", Florida (have been given permission from the tribe) http://www.fsu.edu/news/2005/06/17/seminole.support/
- Marquette "Redmen" and "Redettes", Michigan
- Salmon High School "Savages", Idaho
- University of North Dakota "Fighting Sioux", North Dakota
- Washington "Redskins", Washington, DC
Quote
"Often, people think about Native Americans as we were envisioned at the turn of the century. If we're not walking around in buckskin and fringe, mimicking the stereotype in dress and art form, we're not seen as real. Native Americans are here, and we are contemporary people, yet we are very much informed and connected to our history."Films
- Chief Video Documentary - The Chief and The Tradition
- In Whose Honor? (1997). Written and produced by Jay Rosenstein. Ho-ho-kus, New Jersey: New Day Films.